fatal
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fatal
- /ˈfeɪ.təl/
- [ˈfeɪ.ɾɫ̩] US
Rhymes with -eɪtəl
Where it comes from
From Middle French fatal, from Latin fātālis (“fatal”).
adjective more fatal · most fatal
-
Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.
Similar: inevitable, necessary, avoidless, certain, fatal, foregone, impreventable, ineluctable, inescapable, inexorable, irresistible, natural
-
Foreboding death or great disaster.
Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother for forgery—with a verdict of guilty—is a most truly horrible, deplorable, fatal thing. It takes the respectability out of a family perhaps at a critical moment, when the family is just assuming the robes of respectability: […] it is a black spot which
Similar: inauspicious, portentous, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, dire, disastrous, divine, fatal, foreboding, ill-boding
-
Causing death or destruction.
a fatal wound; a fatal disease; that fatal day; a fatal mistake
Similar: calamitous, deadly, destructive, lethal, mortal, terminal, apocalyptic, cataclysmal, cataclysmic, catastrophic, debacular, devastating
- Causing a sudden end to the running of a program. a fatal error; a fatal exception
noun fatals
- A fatality; an event that leads to death. another fatal on the turnpike during rush hour
- A fatal error; a failure that causes a program to terminate.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fateful, decisive, inevitable, calamitous, disastrous, black, mortal, deathly, deadly, lethal, unfortunate, terminal, baleful, fatality, momentous, ultimate
Translations
Every language
adj proceeding from fate
| Español | fatal |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 宿命的な shukumeiteki na |
| Português | fatal |
| Français | fatal |
| Deutsch | verhängnisvoll, fatal |
| Italiano | fatale |
| Русский | роково́й rokovój, фата́льный fatálʹnyj |
Talk about this word "fatal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fatal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. fatal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fatal "fatal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fatal.Cite this
@misc{fatal_2026,
title = {fatal},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fatal},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
